Before Your Love
by Kat44
Summary: This is my first LJ fiction! Summary inside Bio. Chapter 5 up!
1. Chapter 1: You Prat!

A/N: Hey, I know there are a _lot_ of L/J pairing at the moment, but I just _love_ that pairing _so_ much that I just have to write one _myself_! (I'm addicted, sorry!) I would like to know if I spelled something wrong or wrote a phrase incorrectly, because just this summer, I have learned how much of a perfectionist I am, which would be about 99.9%! I really do hope that I _don't_ have mistakes because I've **review**ed over 300 times for many stories, half of them criticizing productively or pointing out a mistake. So please, don't **flame** unless it is **constructive** **criticism**. I do not need to hear "Your story sucks!" or anything along that line, because I _know_ it does. . . But if you do **flame**, I need an _adequate_ **reason**. Okay? 

One more thing:   
  
**_THANK - YOUS WILL BE POSTED ON MY BIO!_**

Oh! And the about the title, I might add a bit of the song in here, so therefore, my fic is a half songfic. Well . . . here goes nothing . . .

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REWRITTEN DUE TO THE SLIGHT CHANGE IN HP:OotP (This fiction used to be called _Life With Lily._ The name was changed due to the change of the story and plot, both.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Lily, James, Sirius, Peter, Remus, or any other character which is familiar in any of the books. I own the reverend and later on in the story, I'll continue adding to my list.

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Before Your Love

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By: **Kat44**

Chapter 1: _You Prat!_

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It was sunniest day of the summer. Birds were chirping. Flowers were "chatting" with one another. There was so much joy in the air . . . "life was 'groovy'" as some people had put it at that time. A redhead of fifteen years was sitting on her swing in the backyard. She was humming to herself, content with her surroundings. Suddenly, as if to ruin this Kodak picture moment, a little gray owl flew by and dropped a letter onto the girl's lap with a **plop!**. She carefully tore the envelope open and her deep emerald eyes raced back and forth, side to side, as she quickly read her mail. After she pulled a small badge out from inside her envelope, to confirm what she had just read, she bolted for the back door. 

"Mum! Dad! I - " called for her parents as she ran into the house. She abruptly stopped in the doorframe of her living room, her letter completely forgotten. Her father was bent over a petite figure. "Dad?" the girl asked softly, as she slowly made her way to her dad, the small package still clutched in her hands. But the man didn't hear her. He was oblivious to the fact that anyone was **alive**, at that moment because he was crying. The girl's eyes began to water and her lip trembled. She was hesitant and tottered as she found her voice, "Is it . . . is she . . . what **happened**?" 

"I don't **know**, sweetheart. One minute she was walking around the room talking to me about the weather, and the next thing I knew, she fell to the floor about three minutes ago. And just as you barged in, she stopped breathing," the man explained slowly, letting his daughter absorb everything. 

At first, the girl didn't reply. She stared at her dead mother, whose same pale complexion she had inherited. Besides her complexion, the girl had inherited just about every physical appearance from her deceased mum; a dancer's legs, a petite figure, and the one thing that made her stand out in a crowd: her bright, curly red hair, which bounced at every step she took. The only appearance the girl had received from her father were the littlest freckles you could barely see even inches from her face. Mum used to call me her Speckled Flower_, the redhead thought sorrowfully. Finally, the girl came to her senses, when the door slammed open and a horse - faced blonde stomped in muttering something about her fat arse of a boyfriend. "We should call someone . . . like the police?" Her insight hadn't completely come back. _

About three days later, the grumbling blonde was now crying her little eyes out, though she was dressed in the brightest colors of summer . . . at her mum's funeral. The redhead dabbed her eyes with the little white handkerchief she had brought along. The crowd was huge, but everyone gave the intermediate family some space. The redhead had stood across from her father, who was standing next to the blonde. The coffin was between the family. And the reverend was standing at the head of the coffin, droning on about the free soul. Other than that, the cemetery was absolutely soundless. 

The redhead stared at the wooden coffin, which held the limp body of her mum. "You look just like your mum!" the words repeated over and over again in her head. She couldn't take hearing people tell her how much she looked like her mum. The memories would come back and she would just begin an impromptu cry of sadness. So the last thing the redhead did at the end of the summer was turn her gorgeous hair from bouncy curls to straight - as - board. Her father barely recognized her the next day.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Come on, Evans. Just go out with me," sixteen - year - old James Potter pleaded for the umpteenth time. It was the last day of their fifth year, and James _still_ wasn't having any luck persuading this redhead Prefect into dating him.

"**No**!" came the automatic reply from that certain redhead. Lily was a completely different person at school. At school, little Miss Lily Evans was extremely stubborn and expressed her opinions _very_ strongly. At home, Lily Flower was soft - spoken and easygoing. "You're just an ignorant, selfish, spoiled, pricky **git** who hexes random students for no good reason!"

"Hey! I do _too_ have a good rea - " James tried to protest, but this fiery redhead would hear nothing of it. 

"You'll never change, Potter, and I'll never go out with you. So leave me alone!" James opened his mouth to reply, but Lily cut in. "**End** **of** **discussion**." And with that, she turned her heel and strolled over to her fellow Fifth Year friends as if nothing happened, leaving an astonished James Potter standing in the same place for over ten minutes, his jaw hung open.

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I can change. I know I can! James thought tenaciously. But to make things worse, his three best friends were off to the side, laughing their unknowing little heads off.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Dad! I'm going to miss the Hogwarts Express!" 16-year-old Lily cried. 

"Wouldn't want **that** to happen, now would we?" muttered 18-year-old Petunia. Her father was giving Lily the hundredth hug and kiss goodbye. He was finally getting the hang of being both "mum" and "dad".

"But sweetheart, this will be the second to last year that you will be going to Hogwarts!" Mr. Evans exclaimed, "My little girl's growing up!"

"I know, and this year is another year when I am a School Prefect, and I must be on the train at **once**!" Lily said. 

"Do you have someone _special_ you wanted to see? Because I'll understand if you do," her father teased. (A/N: I really can't imagine that, but I'm the author and you're the reader.)

"_Dad_! You're **embarrassing** me! Better yet, you're embarrassing me **and** you! No father I know talks like a mum!" Lily was outraged, as she looked around quickly to see if anyone she knew was listening. 

"Dad, we should let Lily go now. We wouldn't want her to miss her train, now, would we?" Petunia asked her father, with the slightest bit of laughter in her fraudulent sugar - filled voice. She was cracking up by the fact that her father had a feminine side to him. 

"I suppose not," Mr. Evans answered. Then he turned back to Lily. "Now, you must-"

"Owl home at least once a week. I know, dad, I know. We have been over this a million times already," Lily interrupted.

"Well you best be going now," Petunia said in a cheerful voice, which was a bit unusual for her.

"What's **wrong** with her?" Lily asked herself. 

"I've promised _Vernon_ that I would meet him at noon," Petunia sighed, referring to her long time boyfriend.

"**Now** it makes sense," Lily giggled to herself. Petunia noticed that Lily laughed at her.

"**You're** just **jealous** because **I've** found someone whom I love and loves me **back**!" Petunia snapped. Lily laughed even harder. "Shut up, you…you…you **git**!" Petunia cried.

"Petunia!" Mr. Evans reprimanded crossly, "watch your _language_!"

"Sorry dad," Petunia muttered.

"Well, I best be going now! I will see you at **Christmas**! Bye dad! Bye **Petunia**! Tell _Vernon_ I said 'hullo'," Lily laughed. Petunia shot daggers at her. "And I will remember to owl once a week!" Lily added before she got on the train.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Look! There's Evans!" James hissed from the guys' compartment. 

"Are you sure that's her?" Peter asked looking out of the window. 

"Of **course** it's her. Jamsie would know if it is or not. After all, he spent the entire summer trying to change himself for her." Sirius began to tease.

The two began engrossed with a conversation about Lily. " — she probably won't even _notice_ the change, Prongs. Why don't you just come join me in the wondrous circle of the bachelors — " Peter was so into their conversation that he would nod every now and then, being the **inconsiderate** prat that he is. Remus had been adding things into the prank book. 

Since the third week of the four boys' stay at school, they had been keeping track of the exact prank and/or spell they used on the unfortunate victim. Not only had they, or Remus rather, recorded the time of day, but the amounts of detentions they received along with who had thought of the prank. 

Besides _The Official Marauder's Book of Pranks_, Remus had begun "writing" another book as well, in third year, when their hormones had grown onto the four. This one had complete detail of the all of the girls James had either gone out with, or fancied for at least two days as well as a photo that kept changing from when James had liked her to what she looks like now. It was called _The Book of James Potter's Infatuation with Girls_, otherwise known as _TBoJPIwG_, which Sirius resented because Remus wasn't recording **his** every move with someone from the opposite sex. Remus would always briskly reply that his hand would become cramp from writing so much. 

So far, the closest thing Sirius had done to count as something productive was make a duplicate of the parchment which Mcgonagall wrote the names of a newborn witch or wizard on. Each year, when McGonagall wrote more names in, the duplicate would become longer, as each name appeared onto the "growing" parchment. (Currently, the parchment is ten feet long, but is no longer in use because our favorite troublesome four, more like _three_, have all grown up. However, the whereabouts of the parchment are unknown.) Nevertheless, Sirius didn't use the parchment for good, but evil. He used some sort of spell to divide the names into two columns, boys and girls. On the female side, there were numerous colorful marks. You see, each color represented one Marauder. Sirius was red, for unspeakable reasons, James was green (who was originally orange but changed for obvious reasons and could NOT be red), Remus blue, and Peter was a cross between mauve and pink. (**"PINK?" Peter had cried as soon as he found out. "No, no, no. It's a MAUVE - pink," Sirius had told him, as if that made any difference.**) On the male side, there were tallies next to every name that identified the number of pranks they played. (Next to a certain Severus Snape, the four had to add additional parchment during the years.)

"So when _did_ you start liking Lily?" Peter asked, once Sirius and James had finished their — ehem — **_exclusive_** debate on James's dating status. 

"I guess around forth year or so," James answered after little thinking. Answers always came easily to him.

"Yea! When James was _raging_ with hormones!" Sirius laughed. The three didn't notice the subject being talked about walk in. 

"Hullo, Lily!" Remus greeted the newcomer promptly. 

"Hullo Remus!" she greeted back cheerfully. 

"Hullo, Evans!" James called out, trying to follow his mate's fashion. Lily just looked at him, her face full of disgust. Sirius snickered. James gave him "The Look." She looked around the compartment and hastily noticed the other two. "So how are you doing?" James asked, his second attempt to have her converse with him.

"Leave me alone, Potter!" Lily snapped. 

"How **are** you doing, by the by?" Remus asked.

"Oh, my sister's _such_ a **prat**! So annoying. She never shuts up about - " Lily dramatically put her hands over her heart and "sighed" in a falsetto voice, "_Vernon_." She rolled her eyes and shook her head, simultaneously. 

"Who's Vernon?" Remus asked, mildly interested.

"My sister's boyfriend, who's a fat, ugly **prat**!" 

"You sure like to use "prat" a lot," James commented.

"Well, **you're** a prat," Lily glared at him.

"He had it coming," Sirius whispered to Peter. 

"And how so?" James asked Lily, as he leaned back, in a swaggering way.

"Acting as if you're "God's gift" to women. You date a girl for about a _week_ and then, when you get bored of them, you casually _toss_ them behind you . . . like how you throw away rotten food." — **"I don't do that! Food is precious!"** — "One blonde here, another brunette there, you never seem to learn the names, just what they look like, just like how you treat your "_precious_" food — " Sirius looked up from reading over Remus's shoulder and stared at Lily, aghast. 

"**All** food is good," Lily could barely hear Sirius mutter under his breath. 

" — You think **just** because you have the looks and charm, you can get away with _murder_." —**"So much for trying that on Snivellus" James muttered.** — "Well, you **can't**! Your ego is three **times** the size one normally obtains." As Lily continued to list off the worst personality James contained, Remus dictated every word into _TBoJPIwG_. He knew that he would need to read it aloud later that day. 

"So do you want to snog or not?"

The look Lily contained on her face was priceless. It had "aversion" written all over it. Just with that one line, Lily was **furious**. She felt her hand reach up and smack him. A red handprint was now noticeable on James's left cheek. Lily withdrew from the room, looking all huffily. 

"So much for Prongs changing himself," Sirius mumbled laughing. 

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PLEASE **review**! I need **review**s BADLY! Did I make any mistakes? I NEED to know! Was it good? Bad? Okay? So - so? **Review**!

-Katherine

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Originally Posted: August 2003

Text Copyright _©_ August 2003 by Kat44


	2. Chapter 2: New Best Mates

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Reminder: All of my thank - yous will be posted in my bio, because I just don't have the time to re - post a chapter because someone **review**s it. 

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REWRITTEN DUE TO THE SLIGHT CHANGE IN HP:OotP (This fiction used to be called _Life With Lily._ The name was changed due to the change of the story and plot, both.)

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Disclaimer: I do not own Lily, James, Sirius, Peter, Remus, or any other character which is familiar in any of the books. I own: the reverend, Jules Contorti, Maria and Mark Pask, Sandy Dolores Summers, Heather Malone, Lisa Perks, Jordan Perks, Kimberly Cauldwell, Eleanor Ackerly, the list of names, and Remus's **books The Official Marauder's Book of Pranks** _and_ **_The Book of James Potter's Infatuation with Girls_** (**_TBoJPIwG_**). Later on in the story, I'll continue adding names, places, etc. to my list. 

Before Your LoveHTML

By: **Kat44**

Chapter 2: _New Best Mates_

"Sandy! There you are! I must tell you something immediately!" Lily cried as soon as she found her friend in an almost deserted compartment.

"Have you seen Heather?" Sandra Dolores Summers asked referring to Lily's best friend. 

Heather was quite known in Hogwarts. She was very special. Top of her classes, right next to Lily, James, and Sirius, of course. She was always asked to the balls. Danced every dance. Out on a date every night, but somehow she still had a good grip on her relationships. She even finished her essays all within an hour's worth, no matter how long they were. Heather had this honey-dirty-blonde look, with matching brown eyes. You could get lost in those eyes of hers forever, literally. (Not like Lily's, of course, Lily had natural attraction in the eye area.) It was a gift she inherited from her father's mum, who was half veela. She was tall (about five foot and nine inches) and pretty and smart. The girl everyone wanted to be or date, **with** the exception of the Slytherin and other "non - Pureblood" haters. Heather and Lily had known each other before school, mainly because they went to the Muggle schools together. They have been best friends ever since pre-school, though Heather was a Pureblood. Her parents were "Muggle - lovers" as the Slytherins put it.

But Sandy was the total opposite. She had mousy brown hair, which frizzed up when it was humid (It looks like Hermione's but more puffy), but normally it was straight. She had these piercing blue eyes that sometimes made it hard to see her emotions. She wasn't as outgoing or social as Heather. At least she spoke her mind, and she was crazy and fun and a complete clown at some times. However, on the other hand, so was Heather. Though, only Sandy's closest friends could tell how she was feeling, sometimes even _Lily_ had some trouble revealing her friend's emotions. Sandy was like the one you could talk to, like a Remus in a female form. Sandy had befriended Heather and Lily on the Hogwarts Express; in the very compartment that the Marauders were sitting in. 

"No, but I'm sure she's with Ralph," Lily shrugged, pertaining to her best friend's recent beau.

"She can't be. Heather told me she broke up with him on the last day last year, just as we got off the train, remember?" Sandy asked, her eyebrows furrowed. 

"Oh, right!"

"What about the Marauders?" 

"No, I was just there."  
  
"Did you see _James_?" Lily began blushing furiously.

"I don't **like** him!" 

"Fine, fine. So where can Heather be?" 

Lily tried to think of the list of potential guys that her friend was interested in. "What's his name? She just got together with . . . was it Paul McGibbons from Ravenclaw, or Jason Lafayette from Hufflepuff? Maybe she's with -- " 

" -- Hi, I'm Mark Pask and this is my twin, Maria Pask -- " a male voice came the door. Both girls turned their heads to see two fraternal twins standing in their doorframe. They both shared identical brown hair and hazel eyes with speckles of green in them (A/N: ha! I'm evil!). But their builds were completely different. Mark was tall and had the torso of a Quidditch Player. Maria was small and petite and was the perfect size to fit into anyone's arms. 

" -- and we're new here. We just transferred here from Salem Academ_y_, and like -- " Maria had continued.

" -- we hope to meet new people," Mark finished.

"They're completely lost and don't know a thing abut Hogwarts," Heather explained as she stuck her head through the open space between the twins. 

"Why don't you two sit down and we can become acquainted with each other," Lily suggested as she slid over to make more room for the newcomers. Mark and Maria sat down shyly next to each other, their luggages by their feet, as Heather bounced into the compartment. 

As Lily took out her own copy of Hogwarts, A History, Sandy asked her friend sheepishly, giving up on the guesses, "What's his name?" 

"Jules Contorti from Ravenclaw," Heather replied, sitting down, "Oh and I'm supposed to sit with him. Hope you don't mind, bye!" And with that, Heather bounced right back out.

"So, _Mark_. Do you like Quidditch?" Sandy asked as she eyed him with interest. 

"Love it," Mark had dimples.

"So, I know the Quidditch Captains and stuff, so maybe I could go introduce you to one of the well known captains. He's from my house," Sandy nodded as her hand edged toward his. 

"Sandy, you don't even _know_ where the Marauders' compartment is," Lily laughed at her friend's feeble attempt. Maria, who was probably used to this by now, laughed as well. 

"**Fine**! You take him! I'm sure _James_ would be **glad** to see you! I'll just sit here and talk with Maria, my _new_ best friend!" Sandy cried as she leaned back and crossed her arms across her chest. 

"Good luck, Maria!" Lily sang as she and Mark walked out of the compartment, and Maria's sweet, dainty voice could be heard until the door was closed.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Okay! Here we are!" Lily said ask she stopped on front of the door. 

  
"Are you sure it's . . . **sane** in there?" Mark asked warily as he heard something heavy fall followed by a salvo of laughter. 

"Of course it is!" Then she opened the door, only to find the compartment in a complete mess.

"Hullo Lily!" Peter's squeaky voice greeted her faintly from underneath a pile of socks. 

"Hullo Mrs. Po -- " Sirius began from underneath a pile of dungbombs. "**No**! They're going to explode!" 

Lily rolled her eyes and took out her wand. She picked up a clean bag of some sort and called, "Accio Dungbombs!" They all came flying at her, but she picked up the back to her face so they would land inside. Suddenly, a shaggy - haired teenage boy was revealed. 

"Hullo Lily! And who might your friend be?" Remus asked, quickly grabbing for _TBoJPIwG_ and a quill. 

"Mark Pask," he introduced himself, putting out his hand. Remus, being the thoughtful sweet, considerate (the opposite of Peter) gentleman that he was, shook it. 

"So where's James?" Lily asked, looking around the compartment.

"Why? Do you _fancy_ him?" Sirius teased, raising his eyebrows.

"Lord, no! Sandy _promised_ Mark that he could meet "the Quidditch Captain of her house". But she doesn't know where you located your compartment," Lily explained. 

"Do you . . . like . . . pranks?" Sirius interrogated the poor boy slowly. 

"Couldn't love it anymore," Mark grinned.

"Quidditch? Food? Gorgeon the troll?" 

"Love, love, _who_?"

A wide grin found its way to Sirius's lips. "I think I've just found my best mate in the whole world!"

"And what about James?" a fellow Marauder asked, finding his way out of his "hiding place". He ruffled his black hair, noticing Lily at the doorframe.

"James _who_?" Sirius laughed looking at his "original" best mate. 

"So, I see that you have friends now. I wish you the best of luck. Now I have to go check on your sister," Lily said. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and left, leaving James to be once again amazed. 

"How'd you **do** that?" James asked, envious of the newcomer.

"Do what?" Mark asked, befuddled. 

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Then the Prefects for our Year are Lily and Remus for Gryffindor, Amelia Bones and Amos Diggory for Hufflepuff, Emmeline Vance and Benjy Fenwick for Ravenclaw, and Severus "Snivellus" Snape and Narcissa Black for Slytherin," Sandy finished, making a face when she said the last names.

"Black? Isn't Sirius's last name a Black?" Maria asked, trying to recall what her friend had previously told her. 

"Yes, Narcissa and Sirius are cousins. Narcissa is going out with Lucius Malfoy, who's a git. One of his followers include Rodolfus Lestrange, who married Bellatrix Black who is Narcissa's sister as well as Sirius's cousin. I think the two are twins or something . . . " Sandy trailed off.

"Sorta like me," Maria meekly laughed.

"Oh, wait. No, Bellatrix was eldest, **then** followed by Andromeda who married some Muggle - born named Ted Tonks and they have a daughter . . . Nymphadina? No, it was Nymphadora. Nymphadora Tonks, who's currently five. That's right, Sirius told us. Apparently, Andromeda is his favorite cousin who's one of the few decent people in his "former" family." Sandy explained. (A/N: If you read closely, it said Bellatrix's name was on the _left_ side of Andromeda's burn. If people start from eldest to youngest, they always start on the side they write from, in this case, the left.)

"What do you mean by "former" family?"

"Sirius ran away this summer, he sent Heather, Lily, I owls. Of course, Lily just disregarded the owl knowing it belonged to Sirius."

"What's wrong with Sirius?" 

"He hexes people for fun, as does his best mate, James, who is that person I was telling you about."

"No _wonder_ Lily doesn't like him. He sounds cruel. Wait a moment, isn't _James_ the person Lily took Mark to see?" 

"Oh, don't worry. In his clan, there's a decent person. His name's Remus Lupin and he's actually quite nice." 

"_Oh_ . . . so where's Lily?"

"**What**? Don't you **like** _me_?" Sandy feigned a hurt face. Maria just stared at her, unsure of what to say. Sandy just laughed and told her assuringly that Lily was only patrolling the corridors and going back and forth to the Prefects carriage to receive more orders from the Head Girl, Marlene McKinnon, and Head Boy, Caradoc Dearborn."

"Ohhhh!" Maria giggled sheepishly, nodding her head. "What house are **you** in?" And with that, their conversation continued rapidly.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" Rubeus Hagrid called out loudly. 

"You better follow him," Sandy suggested.

"Are - are you _sure_?" Maria asked, taking a second glance at the half - giant. 

"He wouldn't hurt a _fly_ . . . maybe a Death Eater, but that's a completely different story. Go on," Heather told Maria, giving her a gentle shove. She had come back from her snog with Jules not too long ago.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"And then we'll meet you at the middle of the table. Most likely, spot where your sister is moving to. She's probably going to sit with the girls," Sirius instructed. Remus climbed into any random carriage.

"But what if I'm not sorted into Gryffindor? What if _Maria's_ not sorted into Gryffindor? What if -- " Mark was beginning to hyperventilate. Peter followed him in. 

"Mark, Mark, Mark. You bloody Americans -- " Sirius shook his head " -- need to think straight. It's logic sense! Be more optimistic, why don't you, old chap!" And with that, Sirius wished his new friend "loads of luck" on the "task" of being sorted. Then he followed James into the supposedly empty carriage. The four had purposely chosen not to tell the Yankee about how he was being sorted. 

"Oh! Um . . . hullo," greeted a confused Sandra D (A/N: Grease!).

"Moony! I thought this carriage was empty!" Peter sniveled. 

"Oh shut it, Wormtail! That was rude!" Sirius glared at the puny rodent. 

"I'm surprised you know what rude _is_, Sirius," a clear, crisp female voice said with repugnance.

"Hullo Evans!" James called out, trying so hard not to use his Potter Charm. 

"Didn't I tell you to **leave** **me** **alone**?" Lily glared at him dangerously. "You know what? I can't _stand_ half of the population in the carriage. Come **on** girls, I'm leaving."

"Oh come _on_ Lily, just sit down," Heather pleaded wearily. 

"No!" Lily cried as she opened the door and jumped out. Sandy shrugged her shoulders and followed the fashion. Heather sighed and turned to the guys.

"See you at the feast!" and with that, she left as well.

Elphias Doge was walking past the three girls, and called to the shuffling leader, "Hullo, Evans!"

"Doge," Lily acknowledged, her green eyes flashing as she looked at him.

Kingsley Shacklebolt climbed into the "Marauder's" carriage and plopped onto a seat next to Remus, who was busily writing in one of his famous books. "Was that Lily Evans who was glaring at everyone? She's usually so blonde - like." (A/N: No offense to blondes! I meant that such as the bouncy and bubbly sort.)

"Yes, well, Prongs here, being the prick he is, annoyed the heck out of her so she stormed out of here with her pretty friends," Sirius explained.

"Hey, speaking of pretty girls, who's your next victim?" Peter asked, stupidly.

"I don't know. There's so many to choose from. Hmm . . . let me see," Sirius said as he took out a long scroll of parchment from his pockets.

"Where'd **that** come from?" Kingsley asked, as the carriages began moving.

"That's for us to know and you to never find out," James told him with a grin. Then he turned to Remus, who was still engrossed in his books. "Sirius added **pictures** _and_ the house colors to the names, this summer, as well."

"Well, there's Lisa Perks, she's pretty . . . no, no, her little brother Jordan Perks was _so_ annoying when we played that prank on him. Remember Moony?" Sirius laughed looking at his list.

"_So why'd you pick me? Do you want me in your group? CAN I? **PLEASE?** **PLEASE?** **PLEASE?**_" Remus mimicked, writing furiously.

"That always gets to me," Sirius slapped his mate's back, after he finished his salvo of laughter. "How about Kimberly Cauldwell? (A/N: GoF pg. 179, first paragraph) She's pretty!" 

"Sirius, you think **all** females are pretty," James laughed.

"Is it **my** fault that Hogwarts is just _swarming_ with gorgeous girls?" Sirius asked, intent on the list. "Hmm . . . just about every girl on this list has been with one of us Marauders at **least** once, with _barely_ any help from Wormtail, with the exception of seven girls . . . now eight." 

"Girls just don't like the way I look!" Peter cried defensively. (A/N: That _might_ not be the only reason . . .)

"**I **don't like the way you look," Sirius muttered. 

"So who's left?" Kingsley asked.

"Well, there's . . . Moaning Myrtle," Sirius answered.

Peter nearly choked on the chocolate frog he was eating. (A/N: Drats!) "What is a **ghost** doing on a list of _live_ people?"

"She _made_ me add it, otherwise she threaten to tell Dumbledore about the daily snogs I had in the Prefects bathroom," Sirius stated dryly.

"I **told** you not go everyday, but did you _listen_?" Remus grumbled. One would think that Remus would have run out of ink by know. But he's still writing because he's using the _Quill of the Century! _bought only in Zonkos stores. (Okay, that was the first infomercial of the day!)

"There's also Eleanor Ackerly, remember her?" Sirius cackled continuing the "never - dated - a - Marauder" list.

"She's _still_ crying every five minutes! She is so paranoid. 'Why are you looking at me like that? Why are you _looking_ at me like that? Why? Why? **WHY**?'" Kingsley laughed along.

"And it doesn't help that she --- " he couldn't say it, but instead, be puffed out his cheeks. Four out of the five were rolling on the floor laughing.

"Didn't Wormtail go with her to the Yule Ball two years ago?" Remus asked, looking up, down rather, from his intense writing. 

"Oh, yes, that's right, I see the little smudge of pink (**"Mauve - pink," Peter muttered.**) Wormtail didn't want me to put down. It was apparently "the worst night of [his] life" (Though, he'll find out there's going to be **worse**!). Well, now it's seven girls. Six, if you don't count Myrtle. And five if you don't count Maria, Mark's twin, who just came here." 

"Sorry Sirius, you had loads of time to ask her. It's still six," Remus shook his head, referring to the rules they made up about the dots on the list.

"Oh! There's Laura Whitby! She's too hyper. I tried asking her out in third year, but the conversation went from Quidditch to Muggle lingerie," James said peering over his mate's shoulder. 

"So who are the _other_ three girls?" Kingsley asked.

"Lily, and her entourage, Heather and Sandy. Wait, no, I went out with Sandy already. Well, the point is they're _untouchable_. Just ask James," Sirius grinned, cheek to cheek. He looked from friend to friend, looking for their reactions. 

"_Sirius_," James had begun to say through grit teeth. Peter became nonchalant, not wanting to be in the middle of a fight. Kingsley grinned an identical Cheshire cat grin. Remus was the only one without a visible reaction.

"So, Moony, old chap, what do _you_ say about Evans?" Sirius asked, still smiling. He mumbled something in reply. "What? I couldn't hear you." The answer was slightly louder. "_What_?"

"**I. WENT. OUT. WITH. LILY!**" Remus spoke loud and clearly, as if making sure Sirius could understand him. 

"**When**?" James's head snapped in the direction of his furry friend.

"The Yule Ball in fourth year," Remus answered after a deep sigh. 

"Maybe she **does** hate me," James groaned, _trying_ to curl up into a ball. Suddenly, an idea came to him. "Moony? Can you help me?" Remus looked down at James, his poor friend. He nodded, and with that, James whooped for joy, his head colliding with the cover for the carriage. 

"_Ouch_," Remus whispered, writing it down in one of the books. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

So far I haven't made up anyone with the exception of the Pask twins and the girls whom last names I have stolen from one of the books, apart from Heather and Sandy. All of the other people are from the fifth book. I just noticed something as well. Lily and James died the same date minus the year that Sir Nicholas died! Weird . . . 

PLEASE **review**! I need **review**s BADLY! Did I make any mistakes? I NEED to know! Was it good? Bad? Okay? So - so? **Review**!

-Katherine

****

Originally Posted: August 2003

Copyright _©_ August 2003 by Kat44


	3. Chapter 3: Welcome Back!

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REWRITTEN DUE TO THE SLIGHT CHANGE IN HP:OotP (Used to be called _Life With Lily._ Name changed due to change of story)

Disclaimer: I do not own Lily, James, Sirius, Peter, Remus, or any other character which is familiar in any of the books. I own: the reverend, Jules Contorti, Maria and Mark Pask, Sandy Dolores Summers, Heather Malone, Lisa Perks, Jordan Perks, Kimberly Cauldwell, Eleanor Ackerly, Ryan Aberdale, Margie Pask, Marvin and Merlin Pask-Raposo, Thomas Pask-Raposo, Melissa Pask Gusto _LaJoune, Shelby McAustin, the list of names, Remus's **books The Official Marauder's Book of Pranks**_ _and_ **_The Book of James Potter's Infatuation with Girls_** (**_TBoJPIwG_**). Later on in the story, I'll continue adding names, places, etc. to my list. 

****

__

Before Your Love

****

By:** Kat44**

Chapter 3: _Welcome Back!_

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," Sirius mouthed along as Professor Mcgonagall informed the first years, as she did **every other year**. "Don't forget about the virtual duel between themselves and a troll!" Sirius cried standing up, just as she closed her mouth. Mcgonagall rolled her eyes, knowing that this was inevitable, for it happened _every year_. And what did the girls do? They just shook their heads and stared across the table at the audacious boys. 

"And the stroll through the Forbidden Forest!" Remus yelled after Sirius, standing as well.

"And the maze filled with sphinxes and spiders and werewovles!" Peter meekly screamed, terrified by the fact that more than three pairs of eyes were on him.

"And don't forget about the **test**!"

As the three kept the whole Great Hall occupied, a certain ringleader of the Marauders was squatting under the table, whispering a few spells in every direction. 

"I remember mine, I was just a mere boy of eleven -- " Sirius winked at a few Hufflepuff girls who were staring at him with dreamy eyes. They began giggling like crazy. He had finally taken his "rightful" spotlight, and began telling his tall tale of when he was to be sorted. When Sirius started talking, there was no stopping him, not even the _Silencing Charm_ worked on chatterbox Sirius Black, unless it was Lily Evans or a professor who was using the charm. As soon as the last spell flew out from James's lips, Sirius stopped abruptly. " -- so there I was, face to face with this **huge** serpent. And then I cried a spell, which was -- okay, Minnie, you may proceed now." And with that, the three sat back down and acted as if nothing had happened. 

"No! No! What was the spell? What was the spell?" the naïve first years asked Sirius hurriedly. 

Mcgonagall sighed and thought, This is going to be a _long_ year. (A/N: This would've been the perfect place to end the chapter, but I've decided that it's too short) "Put on the hat and sit on the stool . . . Aberdale, Ryan," she said through grit teeth. 

After a moment, the hat cried out, unwillingly, "**Boo** you _wanker_! SLYTHERIN!"

The professors all stared at the hat aghast. "Potter! Black! Lupin! Pettigrew! Up here now!" Mcgonagall screamed. 

"Beg pardon, professor, but we've been sorted already. We're in Gryffindor, remember? _You're_ house?" James grinned. 

"Up. Here. **NOW**!" Mcgonagall cried. 

"Of _course_, Minnie. Anything for _you_!" Sirius cooed.

"Mr. Black, my name is not Minnie, but Professor Mcgonagall. Now, if you four would kindly remove the spell from the Sorting Hat, we'll be moving along." 

"But Professor, all that we did was put a truth - telling spell on the hat," Remus grinned innocently, his sandy locks still in their perfect waves on his perfect, Prefect head.

"Then what about his tactless comment about the house of Slytherin?" Mcgonagall was not going to let the guilty be set free that easily.

"Is it really our _fault_ that the Sorting Hat particularly doesn't like the Slytherins?" James counter - asked. 

"Well, I suppose it couldn't be **your** fault -- " Mcgonagall pause for a second, everyone was astonished by her words, but her following ones wouldn't fail her, " -- so I suppose that you won't mind serving three weeks of detentions **each**? And extra week for **you** Mr. Black." That cat was a sly one.

"Thank you so much for your cooperation, Minnie," Sirius grinned his _it's - my - birthday_ smile and turned to Remus to cry, "Moony! You hear? That's a whole _week_ **more**! By this time next year, I'll have **more** detentions than Prongsie!" The Great Hall erupted into laughter, unable to hold their giggles for the ecstatic boy was thrilled for detentions. Remus's shoulders were shaking as he jotted down the freshly - made prank. 

Lily and the Headmistress shook their heads both in unison at the nub of the laughs. "May I, professor?" Lily asked her Head, whipping out her wand.

"With pleasure," Mcgonagall grinned. (A/N: That's hard to believe.) And with that, a stream of spells came flying out of the redheaded Prefect's mouth towards Sirius . . . 

~*~*~*~*~*~

"We are not quite done with the Sorting just yet. We have a few transfer students who come to us from Salem Academy in America. First, it shall be Margie Pask," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling at the family of brunettes. Margie hurriedly walked up to the stool and put on the hat. 

"_Oh, you are just too simple to sort. _RAVENCLAW!" the eldest Pask of soon seventeen years hurried off to the table of blue. 

"Maria Pask." Sirius tried to stand up and whistle, but it was pretty hard considering that he was tied in ropes, gagged, and was sitting in a ball-like position.

"_A good mind, yes, yes. Ravenclaw, perhaps? **Dear**, you are ambitious, too; maybe Slytherin. Loyal to old ways, huh? Hufflepuff might be for you. No . . . of course! Just missed your strong sense of courageous bravery! So I'll just put you in _GRYFFINDOR!"

Sirius _tried_ to look at Mark to give him a look of mockery. "Mark Pask."

"_Just like your sister of course. Always have to be the brave one, don't you? _GRYFFINDOR!"

Meanwhile, Maria was pointing out her cousins, Marvin, Merlin, and Thomas Pask-Raposo, and her little sister, Melissa, to her new friends.

"Why is he blonde?" Sandy asked, referring to Thomas.

"I _really_ don't know. Mark keeps teasing him and saying that he was switched at birth," Maria laughed. 

"Perhaps he **was**," Mark said as he sat down across from the girls. 

"You're **horrible**," Lily mouthed to him. James looked down at the table, only to find the girl he fancied talking to the new kid. 

He comes here today, and already she likes him. What am I doing wrong?, James thought to himself.

"Marvin Pask-Raposo." 

"GRYFFINDOR!" Then, the sixth year boy strolled over to his cousin.

"Melissa Pask." The small twelve - year - old crossed her fingers as she sat down.

"GRYFFINPUFF!" The spells the Marauders had put on the hat had _finally_ began to kick in, just as a sandy - haired Prefect began writing furiously in his overly large stack of parchment, again.

"**_What_**?" Melissa was completely confused. Was there an inter - house house? 

"I mean HUFFLEDOR!" 

  
"GRYF. FIN. DOR," the hat repeated clearly, saying each syllable slowly. Melissa looked relieve as her new house cheered for their new addition.

"Merlin Pask-Raposo." A duplicate of Marvin strolled up to the stool, just as his brother recently did. It was like déjà vu all over again.

"GRYFFINDOR!" The house of lion was clearly ecstatic about their huge codicil, while the house of snakes glared all around, not even mention _once_.

"Thomas Pask-Raposo."

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Tommy was always the different one," Marvin whispered to his brother, while all eyes were on the fifth year. 

"Welcome! Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin . . ." Sirius eyed his plate hungrily, droning out Dumbledore. "Tuck in!"

"Food! Food!" Sirius tried to scream, but all anyone head was a faint "Ood! Ood!"

"Evans, aren't you going to change him back? This is **toture**!" James cried at Green Eyes.

"Would you like to try it?" Lily asked, waving her wand at him.

"N - n - no," James stuttered.

"Aims iz fread," Sirius laughed. (A/N: Just so you don't have to figure out what he's saying: "James is afraid.")

"Shut it, Sirius!" Lily and James yelled at the same time.

"You can keep him like that. I think he deserves it now," James said to Lily, using the old reverse - psychology trick. 

"**Fine**!" Lily put away her wand. It didn't work! Lily was too smart to play his dumb games. 

"Here Sirius. I'll do it," Heather offered. "Finite Incantatem." And then Sirius was gag -free. 

"Thank you, **_Heather_**," Sirius said as he glared at Lily. 

"You're welcome, Sirius," Lily laughed. (A/N: This would have been a great place to end. But the third's always the luckiest.)

~*~*~*~*~*~

"So where's the dorm room?" Maria asked, amazed at the beauty of the old castle. The gang took another turn and finally stopped in front of a portrait of The Fat Lady. 

"Here we are! Home sweet home!" Lily and Heather sang in unison, and then burst into giggles.

"We live in a _portrait_? No offense you guys, but Ravenclaw is sounding a bit more tempting at the moment," Mark said, looking at his friends.

"Password?" 

"Hey look! It's Peeves!" James cried, his voice full of emotion.

"Where? **Where**?" Peter asked, his head unsuccessfully trying to do a 180°.

"It's the password," James smirked, as the portrait flew open. He stepped inside, waiting for the rest of them to follow. 

"He wouldn't let me change it," Lily muttered to her friends as they strolled in.

"_Wow_," the Pasks and/or Pask-Raposos gasped. They looked around at the wondrous Common Room. "So where's **my** room?" they all asked in unison. (A/N: another perfectly adequate place to end. So I lied. Maybe the forth?)

~*~*~*~*~*~

"And this person here is Alice," Heather was playing "tour guide", Yankee style, with Maria. "Going out with Frank Longbottom and both are hoping to be aurors. Don't let her blonde hair, (**"It's honey blonde! That's _almost_ brown!"**) blue - eyed features fool you. She's as intelligent as Lily."

"Ooooh! Aaaaah!" Maria awed, pretending to take a picture with in imaginary camera in her hand, "And whose bed is that?"

"Some new girl named Maria Pask," Heather said teasingly, making a face, "Prat." Lily, Sandy, and Alice erupted into laughter, but Maria stayed quiet.

"What "prot" mean?" Maria asked, confused. Sandy sighed and put her arm around Maria's shoulders.

"It's prat, not prot."

"But . . . you said **prot**!"

"It's our _accents_! You Yanks have **so** much to learn. Prat would be like git or in your words, idiot, dummy, something along those lines," Sandy explained. 

"Oh," Maria replied quietly. 

"So how well are you with make-up, slumber parties, and Quidditch stars?" Heather asked the poor girl.

"**Now** you're speaking my language." 

~*~*~*~*~*~

"So who gave you _your_ invisibility cloak?" James asked Mark.

"My uncle Gusto LaJoune. He's French."  
  
"**I **sortahave an uncle Gusto LaJoune!" Remus cried excitedly.

"Calm down, wolfboy," James muttered.

"Me too!" Sirius cried, even more excitedly.

"Down boy!" James whispered. 

"No you don't," Peter said looking at Sirius. He just shrugged in reply. 

"How about Shelby McAustin," Remus said.

"Second cousin." 

"So, then I think that I'm on your mum's side, your mum's sister's husband's aunt's uncle's second wife's brother's wife's nephew's daughter's husband's second cousin's uncle's son to be exact," Remus explained that all in one breath. 

"He thinks fast," Peter whispered to the amazed boy. (A/N: you'd think **he'd** be the amazed, one, wouldn't you?)

"I mean, we're both "Pureblooded" aren't we? **Everyone's** related to **everyone**," Remus said sarcastically. While Remus and Mark went to their "reunion", Sirius went to play checkers with Peter (who ended up loosing), and James just laid on his bed thinking about his beautiful flower.

"Someday, you'll like me. I'll change Lily, I'll change for you," James whispered over and over again, staring at the top of his four - wall - poster bed, until he fell asleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Was the chapter too short? Should I have made it longer? But wasn't that an ample place to end? PLEASE **review**! I need **review**s BADLY! Did I make any mistakes? I NEED to know! Was it good? Bad? Okay? So - so? **Review**!

-Katherine

****

Originally Posted: August 2003

Text Copyright _©_ August 2003 by Kat44


	4. Chapter 4: Morning of the First Day

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REWRITTEN DUE TO THE SLIGHT CHANGE IN HP:OotP (Used to be called _Life With Lily._ Name changed due to change of story)

__

Disclaimer: I do not own Lily, James, Sirius, Peter, Remus, or any other character which is familiar in any of the books. 

Before Your Love

By:** Kat44**

Chapter 4: _Morning of the First Day of Classes_

"Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!"

"Stand aside you silly girl . . . stand aside now. . . ."

"Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead —Not Harry! Please . . . have mercy . . . have mercy. . . ."

Lily Evans shot up, only to find that she was still at Hogwarts in her safe, comforting bed. She was breathing hard and sweating like a pig though. She opened her curtains and found her friends gathered around, with the rising sun as a background. It was five-forty.   
  
"What's wrong Lily?" Alice asked, concerned, her eyes showing signs of worries. 

"You were screaming 'Not Harry! Not **Harry**!' Who's Harry? What year is he in? Does he go here?" Heather badgered Lily with questions, giving her best friend a look. "Do you _like_ him?"

"I . . . I - I think I'm his **mum**," Lily whispered. 

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Not Harry!" James bolted out of bed with the words ringing in his head. It was dawn and he couldn't get back to sleep. He drew his curtains and got dress into his school clothes. He had classes first thing in the morning and it was only their second day back at school. (A/N: It's a Tuesday. I did the math and everything, including the leap years. September 1, 1976, their beginning of sixth year, is a Monday. So it's only logic from there.) By the time the sun had moved a sixteenth, James was poking and pushing everyone out of bed.

"It's the Marauder way, to annoy people," the four had always said. So that was the way the first Marauder up woke everyone else. 

"I'm not **even** a Marauder," Mark grumbled as he sat up. Then he looked around The Room of Havoc, as most people called it. The four had grown upon the name and began calling their room The Room of Havoc as well. "What happened to the room? It was so _clean_ last night."

"That's what I keep telling these pigs. Fold your clothes. Put them away in your trunk. Don't leave your underpants in the bathroom. How many times do I tell them? And how many times to they listen?" Sirius glared at Peter, who was attempting to stuff his things back into his trunk.

"B-b-but _you're_ the messy one!" Peter cried, a hopeless effort to defend himself.

"Wormtail, look at my side and then look at yours," Sirius replied slowly, letting it sink in for his sluggish friend.

"B-b-but . . . you . . . me . . . I . . . clothes . . . floor," Peter couldn't get out the words. (A/N: Prat!)

"I'm sorry, Wormtail, but I just don't like you like that," Sirius laughed.

This _poor_ boy was quite belated in the head. "Huh?"

~*~*~*~*~*~

"I wonder when we get out schedules," Lily squirmed excitedly in the Great Hall as the girls had their breakfast. 

"Lily, it's only six - thirty in the morning. _Sane_ people aren't even awake!" Sandy cried. She wasn't quite the morning person, yet she woke up as soon as she heard a pin drop. 

"I'm sure Professor _Dumbledore_ is awake at this very moment," Lily said stubbornly.

"But he's **mad**," Sandy muttered under her breath.

"Ah! Right you are Ms. Evans. Good morning," the old, wise man greeted his pupils. 

"Good morning, Professor Dumbledore," the girls chorused. 

"Hullo Albus!" a low voice called from the doors leading to the Great Hall.

Sirius.

"Good morning, Mr. Black. I see you haven't caused as many catastrophic scenes due to the fact that you were a bit — ahem — tied up? Have a nice day," and with that, the Headmaster went to sit at his rightful place at the Head. 

"You too, Albus!" Sirius called. 

"He seems to have a bit of trouble with authority, _doesn't_ he? Yesterday, he couldn't even get Professor McGonagall's name right. So much for being a bright constellation," Maria stated. 

As the boys sat down, nearby Lily's _entourage_, Sandy turned to Mark and said, "I like your sister. She's very clever, and she'll be the **best** friend I'll ever have!" Mark just nodded slowly and then gave a shake of his head when he looked away.

"Ugh!" Lily cried in a falsetto voice, "What about **_me_**?"

"You have Heather," Sandy replied, and they both turned their heads to find the bubbly blonde flirting with some Seventh Year from Hufflepuff. 

~*~*~*~*~*~

"What happened to Jules Contorti?" Maria asked timidly. 

"This is just how things go with me," Heather answered, "Flirt here and there, then get serious later."

"Oh."

~*~*~*~*~*~

"_Yes_, I have Heather, my best friend, my best friend who's most likely to be awarded 'Miss I-Get-Around-A-Lot'. 'Miss I'm-So-Crazy-About-Anything-Cute-Cuddly-and-Capable-of-Keeping-Me-Entertained,' better yet," Lily laughed. 

"That sounds a bit like the not - so - bright Sirius Black," Sandy giggled. The two looked down the table at the topic. He was found to be piling loads of food onto his plate. Then they got back to their normal sober selves. "So why doesn't Heather give Sirius a chance?"

"Did you forget that **gruesome** week in forth year, _already_?" Lily asked, mock shock. 

"I know. _However_, she shouldn't hold that **against** him, but **to** him," Sandy said, her eyes boring into Lily's.

"Sand, you were _crying_ three days straight after he broke up with you," Lily said gently, remembering all the reasons more why she despised that _stupid Potter_. 

"Lily, it wasn't what he did. It was how he **did** it. He treated me with utmost respect, and a week later, "we" were gone. There's nothing more to it." Lily opened her mouth to put her say in it, but Sandy interrupted. "I was _fourteen_ and **stupid**. He was fourteen and was raging with hormones." This got a laugh out of her. "Lily, just because he broke **my** heart once doesn't mean that you should be mad at Sirius **or** Remus"—"Never at REMUS!" He looked up at the sound of his name, not seeing anyone looking at him—"or Peter (A/N: Grrrr) or even _James_."

Lily was quiet for a bit, most likely sorting out her thoughts. "Sandy, I've _always_ been mad at Potter. Don't you remember First Year? What he _did_ to me?"

"Lily, this is **exactly** what I'm trying to put into your thick skull—"Hey!"—"You have to forgive and forget. This summer . . . last week I—" Sandy had trouble saying what she had done the previous season. Tears dwelled at her eyes and her lips trembled, which Lily instantly understood what she meant, feeling absolutely guilty.

"No, Sandy. I . . . I understand. You don't have to go any further," Lily said, biting her tongue.

But she continued anyway, with much haste in her voice, which cracked, "I was fighting with Sam the day before Vol-Volde -Voldemort killed him. Sam was visiting and he was teasing me on the lack of friends I have over. Then . . . then I called him a worthless git who was passed around the family until my parents decided to love him again." Sandy was in absolute sobs by now. But she had to continue. No story is a story without an ending. Her voice became softer. "The next day, when he went back to his job, he was killed. _Murdered_ by the Dark Lord himself. I regretted saying all of those things to him and I never be able tell him that I'm sorry, ever again. (A/N: or maybe she _can_ . . .) Lily . . . please think about what I've said." As soon as the words were out, crystal clear, Sandy hurriedly stalked out of the Great Hall wiping her eyes every two seconds.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Sandy had come back with Alice Hart as her accompaniment. Though her eyes were red and swollen, Sandy's face was filled with the previous excitement it once contained. As soon as everyone had received their schedule, the girls piled out, followed closely by the Marauders and their new additions.

"Great! We have Transfiguration in twenty minutes, free period, then Charms, free period, lunch, free period, Divination, Muggle Studies, and then Double Potions with Slytherins. And dinner's _still_ at six. We have a pretty flexible schedule. Oh! Then at eleven tonight, we have Astronomy," Lily said looking over her list. 

"Better cancel my date with Ricky then," Heather muttered as she looked over her list.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Me date with Norma is officially over," Sirius grumbled.

Peter began to mumble as well, "Well, I guess I won't be going with—" then stopped as soon as he realized that he had neither a date **nor** Astronomy. "I'm free tonight," Peter announced.

"Good for you, Ratboy," Sirius snapped, obviously annoyed. "Why did I even _take_ this stupid course?"

"Because you wanted an excuse to go to the Astronomy Tower at night," Remus reminded him. 

"Right!" That definitely cheered up the sad little puppy. "Prongsie! Oiy! Prongs! Do you have Astronomy tonight?" 

Sirius waved his hand in front of the Quidditch Captain's eyes who was constantly staring at something. Sirius followed his gaze and landed right on Lily, who was talking animatedly. Then Sirius looked at the piece of parchment hanging loosely from the dazed boy's hand. It read: "Astronomy; 11:00 PM." 

"Oiy! Lily! **Lily**!" 

The girls stopped walking, and turned around, all at once. "Yes?"

"Do you have Astronomy at 11 tonight?"

"Yes, why?"

"No reason."

"Oh, okay." Lily usually didn't put much thought into what Sirius said to her. It normally just wasn't worth it. But this morning, someone had put oil on the gears in Sirius's head and they had been turning 'round and 'round as soon as he got his schedule. 

"Mr. Moony, my dear friend, I think Astronomy shall be my favorite class," Sirius announced.

"Of course, Mr. Padfoot, and might you have a prank in mind?" Remus asked, playing along.

"Not a **prank**, persay," Sirius grinned sheepishly. 

"**No**! _Really_? **What**?" Remus was truly shocked.

"A _plan_, you see."

"A plan?"

"A plan," Sirius confirmed. "A plan which includes Mr. Prongs and Ms. Evans as the unfortunate victims."

"Ahh! I see," Remus nodded, clearly approving. (A/N: PERFECT place to end!) And that was the beginning of a beautiful story. 

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Can you **believe** that McGonagall gave us homework on the first **day**?" James grumbled as the class piled out. 

"Not like _you'll_ have any trouble, Potter," Lily snapped as she walked by briskly, her head held up high.

"Hullo, Evans!" James cried cheerfully.

"Oh sod off!"

"What's wrong with her?" James asked his friends as Remus shook his head, scribbling furiously into his book. 

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Come on, Lily! I want to get a good seat!" Heather cried, gently tugging at her best mate's arm. 

"Hold on! I'm almost finished!" 

"But you said that five **minutes** ago. I thought you _liked_ Charms," Sandy mumbled.

"I **do**! It's just that I want my essay to be _perfect_."

"I'll look it over for you, Evans," a male voice offered.

"Thanks, but no thanks. You might actually correct rectified things," Lily clarified in a harsh tone.

"But **I'm** top in Transfiguration," James's eyes twinkled as the words passes his lips.

"No one likes a braggart, Potter," Lily spat. "Come on, girls. I'm ready."

"I'll walk you!" James volunteered.

Lily just ignored the proposition and walked past the "King of Transfiguration." The other four girls just shrugged a "sorry" at the rejected teenager and followed the hot - tempered redhead. 

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Oh come on, Lily. It can't be **that** bad!" Heather and Sandy were trying to convince Lily that James was **totally** perfect for her. And that she would like him very much if she just gave him a chance.

"He's **gotten** a _bloody_ chance! _Two_ actually. And neither are cherished moments. So leave me alone!" Lily mumbled as she crumpled her parchment.

"It's not like James is trying to ask you to marry him," Maria offered.

"Well, since you like him so much, **you** can have the bloody prat!" Lily screamed. All eyes immediately turned to Lily. The latter just turned her attention back to her Charms works, muttering about "egotistical gits who are so vain, they have thousands of mirrors at home." Everyone went back to working on his or her spells and the class became unusually silent. About two minutes before the lesson was over, Lily stood up and screamed at her parchment, "Leave me alone!" She gathered her things and stomped out, the parchment floating after her. Lily slammed the door, just in time for the parchment to fall flat on its—erm—face. 

And where was Professor Flitwick, you ask? He's wearing the brand, new Quietus Classius, provided by the Marauders, bought only in Zonko's stores! Need a free period? Haven't got one? Well, try Quietus Classius. It'll have your professor thinking, _What a grand class I have_. And **you** can have a ball! Owl Jonah Jojoba to receive an overnight mailing! _27 Sickles and 3 Knuts each. _Order now while supplies last! (infomercial #2)

~*~*~*~*~*~

"**What** did you do to her?" Remus asked, _TBoJPIwG_ open and read to be written in.

"_I_ didn't do anything. I thought I would just, yanno, see how she was feeling," James shrugged.

Remus sighed and shook his head muttering as he wrote, "Still obsessed with Lily Evans. Won't leave her alone. On the verge of being a stalker."

Upon hearing this, James screamed indignantly, "I am **not** a stalker! I just happen to fancy Ms. Evans."

"**A lot**," Sirius added sniggering.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Do you like the infomercial idea? PLEASE **review**! I need **review**s BADLY! Did I make any mistakes? I NEED to know! Was it good? Bad? Okay? So - so? **Review**! Sorry about the late updates!!!! I started this on August 10, 2003 and I continued up to infomercial #2 by August 22. Today, it's January 9. I feel like I've procrastinated long enough. I feel so welcome! :D

-Katherine

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Originally Posted: August 2003

Text Copyright _©_ August 2003 by Kat44


	5. Chapter 5: Peter Who?

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REWRITTEN DUE TO THE SLIGHT CHANGE IN HP:OotP (Used to be called _Life With Lily._ Name changed due to change of story)

Disclaimer: I do not own Lily, James, Sirius, Peter, Remus, or any other character which is familiar in any of the books.

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__

Before Your Love

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By:** Kat44**

Chapter 5: _Peter WHO?_

"Prongs? What did you write to Lily?" Remus asked his mate accusingly, as the four stayed suspiciously quiet in their dormitories. 

"Why must you **always** blame me?" James asked, a feinting mocked shock on his face. 

"Because it's either you or Sirius who causes the havoc," Remus replied, feigning sympathy. 

"What about **me**?" Peter asked timidly, in his customary high squeaky voice. 

Sirius began laughing. "I always wondered why you became a rat. And I've never noticed before, but your voice is unusually high for a sixteen-year-old bloke!"

"What about me?" Peter repeated, obviously ignoring Sirius's comment. 

"You're the scrawny little sidekick who no one remembers," Sirius answered. 

Frank walked into the dorm. He looked at Peter and asked, "Who are **you**?"

"I'm Peter Pettigrew. Remember? I've been in your dorm room for _years_!" Peter cried, clearly worried that everyone forgot him.

"Peter? I don't remember any Peter . . . are you sure you're not Patrick?" Frank asked, raising his eyebrows at the small boy.

Suddenly, Maria barged into the room. "Have any of you seen Mar—" Abruptly, she stopped talking and peered at the tiny blonde boy, suspiciously. "What are you doing with a First Year?" 

"He says he's _Peter_," Frank explained, pointing his thumb at the scared little boy.

"Oh—" Maria nodded her head slowly "—I think I know you."

"Really?" Peter asked, hope in his eyes.

"Erm—of _course_," Maria forced a grin onto her face.

"Well we better get going. Lunch is on the way!" Remus said.

"**Food**!" Sirius cried. A second later, well, can you say "Zoom, zoom!"?

"Do you really **know** him?" Frank whispered to Maria ask they piled out.

"I thought his name was Patrick," Maria replied.

"Me too!"

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Oh Gideon, stop it!" Lily giggled. Gideon Prewett, seventh year, grinned as he made one of Gryffindor's most beautiful women laugh. 

"Lily looks like she's having fun. Do you think he'll ask her to the dance?" Heather asked excitedly. 

"Better yet, do you think she'll say yes?" Sandy giggled.

"Amos Diggory is a bit easy on the eyes," Maria muttered, staring at the Hufflepuff's table.

"Don't tell me you've started too!" Mark screamed. Dozens of eyes immediately turned to him, especially the girls. "I think I'm beginning to like this place."

"'Atta boy, Mark. I knew you'd see it our way," Sirius patted his new friend on the back.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Lily laughed again as Gideon finished his joke. He was a good friend, but not her type. She needed someone who was a bit maturer. Of course, Gideon was already mature, but he seemed like he would take back his childhood in a flash if he was given the choice. Heck, **everyone** would take back their childhood considering the current events with Voldemort. He caused so much havoc everywhere, and each time some sort of catastrophe were to occur, half the Slytherins were found missing. 

Lily wanted a "man" who was like Frank but different: sweet, smart, and considerate. Of course many of the guys at school possessed those qualities, but every single one of them were missing something. Some were dull and not vibrant enough. Others were just too conceited for her taste. 

Lily felt like there was no one at Hogwarts for her. No one at home caught her eye either. Of course, she went on dates and did what other girls her age did. But she never had a special connection. Lily never went so far as to say, "I love you," to a boy. Then she thought _maybe there just isn't anyone out there for me._

~*~*~*~*~*~

He watched _his_ beautiful Lily laugh at that **git**. How **dare** that Prewett boy try to make her his. Lily was _his. _Lily was _not_ for the taking. She was _his._

~*~*~*~*~*~

James stared down the table at his beloved. He realized that her red hair looked a little more auburn than it usually was. And her eyes. They twinkled like the stars. James wished so badly that she was laughing at him like that. All that Lily ever looked at James with was grief. Then he turned his attention to girlfriend number 3189. She was a first-year Ravenclaw. _What was her name again? No matter. I'll just call her those names. . . baby . . . sweetie . . . yea._ It was only the first actual day at school and he had already gone through two first years and a fifth. Currently, he had seventeen first years in his hair. _Maybe I shouldn't date that many at once. It might give Lily a bad impression about me. But I guess one more day couldn't hurt. No, if I can just get rid of all of them, that'll be better._

"Baby?"

"Yes, James?" 

"I don't think we're going to work out."

"Why not?" the first-year was shocked.

"Well, you see. I like this other girl. And she's just not you. I'm sorry."  
  
And with that, the first-year stomped off back to her table. By mid-dinner, James Potter was a free man again. 

~*~*~*~*~*~

"See, Moony? This is supposed to go in the book," Sirius insisted for the twentieth time.

"No, it's not, Padfoot. Prongs breaks up with girls all the time," Remus replied, bored.

Sirius thought for a moment before questioning, "But _seventeen_? At the _same_ _time_?"

"Padfoot, they're all first-years. Plus, he probably just wants to beat you at the number of dates he's had. You know Prongs. He's just as much of a womanizer as you."

"I am **not** a womanizer! I don't get sidetracked at—Hullo Becky!" The dog left his friend to follow the giggly blonde to her common room.

"As you were saying?" Remus muttered.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Later that night, Lily snuggled up in her favorite armchair by the fire. She grabbed one of her books and began reading. She was halfway through the book, when Remus quietly crept in. 

"Good evening, Remus!" Lily called from across the room. 

The wolf looked up at his friend. She didn't move an inch to welcome him, but only to greet him.

"How have you been lately?" Remus asked casually. 

"Nothing much. I've reread a couple of the books I've brought," Lily answered. She stuck a bookmark between the pages she was reading and placed her book back on the table, knowing that she wouldn't be able to continue reading with Remus talking to her.

"They must be good. I haven't found anything interesting as of late," Remus told her.

Lily smiled, "You should borrow some of Heather's fictions."

"Oh?" Remus raised his eyebrows.

"Yes, I'm sure you'd like the cheesy romances. They'd surely entice you," Lily teased.

"I'll have to take you up on that offer sometime," Remus laughed, "But I might have forgotten how to read. I haven't read anything interesting since the middle of the summer. Prongs and Padfoot have kept me pretty busy."

"Which I why I prefer not to hang around those two. If they can convert a perfectly nice boy like you into a mischievous firebrand, I don't want to know what they'd do with me," Lily scrunched up her nose. 

"Oh come. They're not **that** bad. I mean, Sirius might be a little too crazy to be in St. Mungos, and every single detention that they've ever served combined can be carved into every brick that hold ups Hogwarts," Remus explained, "But they aren't the womanizing troublemakers you make them out to be." 

"Then what are they?" Lily asked, hugging a pillow.

Remus thought for a moment. "They're having fun."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

How was that? I know I haven't updated for a while and I hope I actually still have readers (review if you are! I need to know I actually have a purpose for writing!) Thais was probably one of the stupidest chapters I've ever written. I think my "good writing" has disappeared! Did I make any mistakes? Was it good? Bad? Okay? So - so? **Review**!

-Katherine

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Originally Posted: January 19, 2004

Text Copyright _©_ January 2004 by Kat44


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